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| Looking up VanKirk St from in front of our old house |
When I was a very small child during the war years (WWII), my family lived in Clairton, Pa., a medium sized working class town caught in a never ending. ever present grey smoky haze. These skies merged with the pungent odors, scents and smells from miles and miles of continuously fired coal burning coke works, plants and steel mills as America flexed its growing military might. This was a town of very hard working, hard drinking, proud industrious people of many religions, races and colors. blended together in a single all out victory effort. Lets face it, it was do or die and the people here did. Clairton is located on the Monongahela River in south western Pennsylvania and adjoined many other steel towns of similar hard working, hard living men and women. With an unbelievable moral and physical fiber they sent their sons off to war and their daughters to the factories.
My family had moved to Clairton from Niagara Falls after a brief stay at my grandfathers house in Ben Avon, Pa. My father, a graduate of Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University) had been an engineer at the Aluminum Company of America. The depression worsened, and he, like millions of other Americans, was laid off.
My parents had been married January 1, 1929. After the stock market crash and run on the banks, my father found himself unemployed with a 1 year old daughter and a child, my older brother, on the way. My grandfather Anderson arranged a job for my father managing a Thrift Savings and Loan Bank in Clairton in 1932 or1933.
To get the times in perspective, this was the era of Bonnie and Clyde, Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson and other notorious bank robbers. It was also the deepest time of the great depression when 25% of American men were out of work (most women didn't work back then before the war so they too earned no money). That meant only about 37.5% of American adults had a job!
But unlike 5000 other American banks, dad's thrift savings bank didn't get forced into bankruptcy and with the help of his father in law, at least he had a job. Several years later, in 1938, the depression still worsening, together with a partner, Jerry Castelli, my father started a Dodge Plymouth car dealership. It was originally located at 419 St Clair Avenue across the street from the Thrift Savings.
Dad told the story of putting a sign in the bank window that he needed a partner for a new car business. Jerry Castelli came in one day, introduced himself, and asked 'how much do you need?' Dad said $10,000. Jerry pulled out a wad of cash from his coat pocket, counted out $10,000, they shook hands, and that was that.
There never was any written agreement*. Dad continued working at the thrift bank while getting his Dodge - Plymouth dealership (Clairton Auto Sales) underway. Jerry chose to be a silent partner and not be involved with the day to day operations of a car dealership. Like most dad’s trying to support a growing family, Dad was pretty busy so I didn't get to see him much.
We lived in a two story house at 765 VanKirk Street. A quiet pleasant street sheltered and lined by maple, oak, elm and other shade trees. Behind our house was an alley and behind that a large ravine or hollow and a narrow but gently flowing creek surrounded by wild bushes, small trees and flowering weeds. Later the ravine was partially filled in with slag and the winding creek and wildflowers were altered and mostly gone forever. Living in the house with me was our English setter, my 5 year older brother and 7 year older sister and of course, my parents.
I have faint but definite and pleasant recollections of my mother rocking me and singing me to sleep. It was a brown wooden rocker which creaked with the rhythm of her rocking. And I have many other good memories of those early years. Memories of an aging dark mahogany, almost black, upright piano in the living room at the bottom of the stairs. By the time I was four I also remembered the cigarette machine on top of the piano. I remember perhaps because I tried making a few cigarettes and smoking them. I got a mild spanking, which I'm pretty sure I probably deserved.
I remember rolling on the carpet and outside in the grass holding and playing with my dog. Then one afternoon my dog suddenly get violently sick and just as suddenly died.
I cried and cried and cried some more. I had many childhood friends but only one dog. When he tested negative for rabies, my mother claimed our next door neighbor, an older woman named Pirgrin had poisoned him. Mrs. Pirgrin was a sweet older lady and no one believed my mother's allegations including my dad.
But just in case the rabies tests were wrong, my mother insisted I get rabies shots. On the way to the Dr.'s office sometimes we'd stop at Skapik's shoe store on Miller avenue. Back in the 40's shoe stores often had machines to view your toes and bones inside your shoes! I loved looking at the bones in my feet with that old x-ray machine. You stuck your feet in and you could see how well the shoe fit! Needless to say a few years later these machines were removed from the market.
Dr. Hayes our family M.D. was a kind caring soul and he had originally cared for me after I got hit by a car when I was three. My dad had left me in the car in front of the bank where he had worked. Dad had walked across the street to his Dodge Plymouth garage at 419 St Clair Avenue. After a bit I got nervous, climbed out of the car and tried to cross St Clair Avenue to find him. I was three and only a couple feet tall. An older woman driver simply didn't see me. In those days there was no such thing as a car seat for kids.
My older brother and I fought a lot. He was five years older, so you know who won the fights and who had all the black and blue marks. My folks rarely stopped those fights and I was told that I needed to learn to defend myself.
I have just a few memories of my sister during those early years in Clairton. She was seven years older than me, didn't beat me up, and was doing her own thing.
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| Skips Store Click For Credits |
I remember walking up the street to Stabler's house then over to Skips corner store to buy candy.
A few pennies bought you a lot of candy in those days.
The neighbors were very kind and good people. My baby sitters lived nearby. They were Lee and Sally Hughes and sometimes even their brother Bill.
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| Bill Hughes About 1943 |
In the evening, during the early war years, the air raid sirens would wind up slowly blowing louder and louder then slowly fade away. Again and again. My dad would grab his air raid warden's helmet from the top of the piano and rush out the front door to patrol the streets. His job was to make sure no one had any electric lights on. Candles were allowed but from the outside your house had to look dark or very dimly lit.
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| Sally Hughes about 1941 |
Food and gasoline and many other things were rationed but we didn't really go hungry.
My parents listened to our old upright floor model Philco radio for news of the war. Sometimes we went to either local movie theaters or Jerry Castelli's movie theater in Library, Pa to watch newsreels and actually see images what was going on in the war. Newsreels were shown between the feature films in those days as there was no TV until a few years after the war. The news reels contained more than a bit of propaganda. Unlike today, Hollywood even supported our war efforts and made positive films to encourage us all. And thank goodness for Walt Disney. His and other cartoons made life happier.
I also remember well the sounds of music filling our house and feeling the joy and happiness as my mother played Doodle Do on the piano. Her singing wasn’t too bad either. I remember my dad playing one of his harmonicas or strumming one of his two guitars and singing songs of the times and of his childhood. His favorite song was Don't Fence Me In. He also could play the piano pretty well by ear.
Photo: Bunny Lytle
